With major retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target offering free two-day shipping, it’s easy to forget how quickly shipping costs can rack up when it comes to sending packages yourself. Additionally, while you have plenty of shipping services to choose from, it can be hard to find the best rates.
Thanks to the power of the internet, there’s a website that saves you the headache of comparison shopping and finds you the best shipping rates in a matter of seconds, all from the comfort of your home. It’s similar to online shopping tools we’ve featured before, except it’s exclusively for mail.
Sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it? Read on to learn how this service works.
Online Shipping Calculator
Whether you send packages to friends and family or you own a business and ship to customers regularly, the Online Shipping Calculator is the perfect tool to help you find the best shipping prices for your needs.
What makes this calculator different? First, it shows you the cheapest shipping rates for all available carriers, including UPS, FedEx and DHL. Second, it shows you available discount codes.
So how does it work?
- Next, type in the city from which you’re shipping and the city to which you’re sending. As you type, the city will auto-populate to make it even easier.
- Enter the dimensions of your package. (Note: You may need a tape measure or ruler for this step.)
- Enter the weight of your package in pounds, ounces, grams or kilograms.
- Tap the Get Rates button to display your estimated shipping costs.
From here, you can select the most affordable service and carrier for your shipping needs. You can also choose to buy your shipping label from Shippo, a third-party affiliate of the Online Shipping Calculator. For more information about this feature, tap or click here.
How to find the cheapest and fastest shipping options
While finding all available shipping rates is easy enough, how do you find the cheapest option and the fastest one? Not everyone has a week to wait for their package to arrive. In today’s “get-it-now” world, getting your packages out to your customers — or even to friends and family — in the shortest amount of time possible matters.
To find your quickest shipping options:
- Under your estimated shipping costs, look at the third column, labeled Delivery Days.
- Tap the Delivery Days column to sort your carrier options by the number of days it’ll take for your package to arrive at its final destination. You may see delivery day options as short as one day or durations as long as weeks, depending on the ship-to destination.
To find your cheapest shipping options:
- Look at these four columns in the estimated shipping costs: Retail Rate, Discounted Rate, Amount Saved and Percent off. These costs are all tied to how quickly your recipient(s) will receive your package in the Delivery Days column.
- Sort any of these columns to display the lowest rates (or largest discounts).
- Once you’ve selected the option that fits your budget, purchase your shipping label, prepare your package and ship!
Technology certainly has made our lives a whole lot easier — and, in many cases, more affordable. Speaking of which, if you’re looking for other great ways to save money, here are a few smart tricks to use when booking flights online.
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